You Can’t Run Forever is a thriller with strong cinematic roots, but it’s one that doesn’t quite bear dramatic fruit.
When traumatised teen Miranda (Isabelle Anaya) gets in the car with her well-meaning stepdad, Eddie (Allen Leech), for a day trip, they can’t know what’s waiting for them out on the highway – an amiably murderous sociopath, Wade (J. K. Simmons), who decides to turn them into his own excursion.
The third feature of writer-director Michelle Schumacher1, the film spreads its attention, No Country for Old Men-style, between Miranda’s disoriented flight, Wade’s bloody pursuit, the inexperienced, undermanned sheriff’s office (Andres Velez and Graham Patrick Martin), and the worried home front, Miranda’s heavily pregnant mum Jenny (Fernanda Urrejola) and Eddie’s older daughter, Emily (Olivia Simmons).
Where its cinematic predecessor felt ambitious, You Can’t Run Forever is merely unfocused, torn between the chase, police procedural, and family drama. Wade is an oddly understated force of chaos. A more domesticated version of Javier Bardem’s Chigurgh, after Wade’s killed you, he’ll take the time to go through your phone, appreciate your family photos, maybe eat your snacks.2
The film’s script, written by Schumacher and Carolyn Carpenter, commits to an unexpected backstory3, and seems to be trying to make a point about chance and trauma. Ultimately, it just feels a bit lost in the woods.
You Can’t Run Forever is available on Digital Platforms and DVD 27 May. Distributed by Signature Entertainment.
- Her previous two also starring her husband, J.K.
- Maybe something pervier.
- One that recalls another famous movie rampage.
